Keeping Food Germ-Free

Growing concern over the safety of the US food supply could lead to more facilities that will irradiate meat to kill bacteria, larva, and other carriers of diseases. Fourteen Isomedix irradiation plants in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico currently sterilize disposable medical equipment and a broad range of consumer products, including baby-care products. If beef irradiation becomes an accepted practice, Isomedix hopes to build plants, which will serve a single beef-processing facility or to contract out for multiple processors. The article discusses that the most likely scenario for plant construction in the future is building dedicated food irradiation plants either at or as near as possible to the point of transportation and distribution, after the final packaging and labelling is complete, to prevent the possibility of recontamination after irradiation. Irradiation also delays the ripening of certain fruits and vegetables, including strawberries, tomatoes, and mushrooms, which are the main crops that are treated at Food Technology Service Inc, in Mulberry, Florida.